It is God's desire that His love is suppose to be imparted into our children First off, it is supposed to be transferred from the parents into the children; this is the responsibility of the parents. The parents are supposed to transfer God's love that they have received from Him and transfer it into their children. Let me explain how this is done below.
Let us examine people in general before we go on with our children. All the people in the world can be split up into three groups. There are the few people that are totally made good by Christ's Holy Spirit residing and living in and through them. Then there are the multitudes of people that have a mix of good and evil, and then there are the few that are completely evil. The extent of how good or how evil a person is is determined by how much of God's love/truth they have accepted in their life.
To a certain extent, God has poured out his Spirit onto all people. This is why you won't find very many people that are totally evil. Even the ones that don't believe in God, they will almost always believe in some of God's truth. When anyone believes in any of God's truth, it will produce some good. Most of us know many people that aren't Christians, but we can also see some good in them while we can also see some evil in them as well. This mix of good and evil will only produce works that are tainted with evil (bad fruit). This is what God calls "dirty rags". But we have to admit, there is some good in almost everyone. So, we also have to admit that God's Spirit of goodness is also partially in these people, because God is the only one that is good and all good things can only come from Him. Most people reflect the world they live in, where there is good and evil. God has created an environment in this world where there is both good and evil. He did this so we could all have a choice between the good and evil. Most people pick both. But for the ones that choose only good, they search out God to receive a full filling of His love, which in turn produces only good fruit out of a pure love.
Now, getting back to how God's love is transferred to other people, including our children. God's love is transferred to others by sharing God's truth and living His truth. What a person believes will determine what love a person will live by. If a person is truly living by God's love, that love of God will be transferred to others that they have a relationship with.
When we believe God's truth, we will then live by that truth. When we live by God's truth, it will produce only pure love. Belief in God's truth will bring a person to a point of being totally free of their self love and empowered to live by God's love alone. Anyone that totally believes in God's truth will live by that truth and can only act in God's love.
God's love and God's truth are one and cannot be separated. When we share God's love with people, we are sharing God's truth. When we take the time to share God's truth with people, we are showing God's love to them. God's love is actually God's truth in action. This is why the first and second greatest commandment is:
Matt 22:37-40 - Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." NIV
God's commandments are to "LOVE" - To have and share God's love. All the Law (all of God's Truth) and the Prophets hang on these two commandments (to have and share God's love). If we go and share God's truth, but do not have the action of showing God's love, the truth we share is empty and possibly damaging. This is why God primarily calls us to have the action of His love, because then we are also showing others the real truth. We must show others the truth by the way we love. Then they will believe in God's truth, because they see it in action through His love flowing through us. In this way the lost can experience God's love and in turn believe God's truth and be found by God.
So, what comes first, God's love or God's truth? It is very important that we first believe in God's truth, otherwise we can't come to know the true love of God. Belief in God's truth will produce obedience to God, which will produce God's love in us. It is very important that we get "whole" ourselves in God's love before we try to help others. If we aren't fully believing in God's truth, then we will not be able to witness to others with the love of God. Anyone that is not believing in God's truth will not be obedient to God, and will not be able to have the full love of God to share with others. It is only through faith in God's truth that we are led into God's love. Once we have become obedient to His truth (commandments), God comes to live with us in the form of pure love and truth (the Holy Spirit). It is then that God empowers us to witness to others in His love.
As parents, if we are full of God's love, we will then transfer God's love into our children. The children will see and experience God's truth and love in action by the parents and then the children will believe in God's truth also, which will produce obedience in the children and result in receiving God's love for themselves.
Blessings,
Michael W Reid
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Friday, June 3, 2011
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Our Children’s Spiritual Foundation
Dear friends,
What does Proverbs 22:6 mean to you?
Proverbs 22:6 - Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
Most of us think this means that if we train our child in the ways of the Lord, then he/she will not depart from that truth they have learned as a child, because they first learned God’s truth in their life and it then becomes the foundation for the rest of their life. This is true.
This verse (Proverbs 22:6) is also loved by the devil, because it works in his favor also. If the devil can make sure that his deceptions are what our children learn first and depend on, then the lies of the devil become the foundation for these deceived persons.
What ever foundation we believe in – it is that same foundation we will also build upon. In our life - we will build upon the foundation with more of what is already contained in the foundation. If our foundation is God’s truth, then more truth will be built upon that foundation. If our foundation is not of God’s truth, then lies and deception can only be built upon that foundation.
So what foundations are you letting being built in your children? Are you giving over your children to the world to create the foundation, or are you protecting your children from the world until they have a Godly foundation completed in their life? Who or what has the most influence in your child’s life? Where are they getting most of their training? Where is most of their time spent?
The verse that proceeds Proverbs 22:6 is what we need to do concerning our children or for that matter any believer that is not mature in God’s Spirit yet.
Proverbs 22:5 - In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares, but he who guards his soul stays far from them.
Many of us are heart broken, because we have children that have grown up and gone away from the Lord or have children that have never really came to the Lord, and we ask ourselves “why did this happen”. Well, if we let our children be given over to the wolves in sheep’s clothing to train our children, how can we be surprised when they don’t submit to the Lord and His ways when we have let their foundation be laid by the world which values selfishness instead of Godly love. Also, like most builders already know, and now we have sadly realized – once the foundation has been laid, it is very hard to remove it and lay a different foundation.
You may ask – but what can we do? Don’t our children need an education to make it in this world? Yes they need an education, but what is the education they need? Do you want your children to prosper in this earthly life even if it means forfeiting their eternity in heaven – the devil is very happy with this plan. Unknowingly - this is the plan that most of us have found ourselves following. But, there can be a Godly balance – we need to educated our children on the ways of the Lord first and realize every other kind of learning must fall under and have less priority then learning about God and committing ourselves to Him. We must not put the cart before the horse – we must keep God the priority or all is lost and worthless.
Remember – the devil wants to get at our children first, because he wants to lay the foundations of their life before God can. Are you going to let him?
Your caring servant in Christ,
Michael Reid
What does Proverbs 22:6 mean to you?
Proverbs 22:6 - Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
Most of us think this means that if we train our child in the ways of the Lord, then he/she will not depart from that truth they have learned as a child, because they first learned God’s truth in their life and it then becomes the foundation for the rest of their life. This is true.
This verse (Proverbs 22:6) is also loved by the devil, because it works in his favor also. If the devil can make sure that his deceptions are what our children learn first and depend on, then the lies of the devil become the foundation for these deceived persons.
What ever foundation we believe in – it is that same foundation we will also build upon. In our life - we will build upon the foundation with more of what is already contained in the foundation. If our foundation is God’s truth, then more truth will be built upon that foundation. If our foundation is not of God’s truth, then lies and deception can only be built upon that foundation.
So what foundations are you letting being built in your children? Are you giving over your children to the world to create the foundation, or are you protecting your children from the world until they have a Godly foundation completed in their life? Who or what has the most influence in your child’s life? Where are they getting most of their training? Where is most of their time spent?
The verse that proceeds Proverbs 22:6 is what we need to do concerning our children or for that matter any believer that is not mature in God’s Spirit yet.
Proverbs 22:5 - In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares, but he who guards his soul stays far from them.
Many of us are heart broken, because we have children that have grown up and gone away from the Lord or have children that have never really came to the Lord, and we ask ourselves “why did this happen”. Well, if we let our children be given over to the wolves in sheep’s clothing to train our children, how can we be surprised when they don’t submit to the Lord and His ways when we have let their foundation be laid by the world which values selfishness instead of Godly love. Also, like most builders already know, and now we have sadly realized – once the foundation has been laid, it is very hard to remove it and lay a different foundation.
You may ask – but what can we do? Don’t our children need an education to make it in this world? Yes they need an education, but what is the education they need? Do you want your children to prosper in this earthly life even if it means forfeiting their eternity in heaven – the devil is very happy with this plan. Unknowingly - this is the plan that most of us have found ourselves following. But, there can be a Godly balance – we need to educated our children on the ways of the Lord first and realize every other kind of learning must fall under and have less priority then learning about God and committing ourselves to Him. We must not put the cart before the horse – we must keep God the priority or all is lost and worthless.
Remember – the devil wants to get at our children first, because he wants to lay the foundations of their life before God can. Are you going to let him?
Your caring servant in Christ,
Michael Reid
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